BEN Smith insists that Moeen Ali is not the man to replace Worcestershire legend Graeme Hick – because he believes the young batsman will do it his own way.

Former Warwickshire ace Moeen has been billed as the big-hitter to step into the shoes of Hick after the ex-England international called time on his 25-year playing career.

Those claims were only heightened by the Birmingham-born star’s career-best 125 from 109 balls during Worcestershire’s opening Friends Provident Trophy victory over Hampshire last Sunday.

However fellow batsman Smith believes that is heavy pressure to put on the 21-year-old’s shoulders.

And Smith insists that Moeen is confident enough to establish himself by doing things in his own style rather than just attempting to replicate Hick’s heroics.

“That’s a big challenge for Moeen but I think he would want to do it his own way. He’ll play it as he sees it,” said Smith. “He is a confident lad who is unfazed and he’s learning all the time.

“Nobody will replace Graeme so the only thing Moeen can do is play his own way and that’s only right.”

Smith also admits that while Hick’s retirement was a huge blow for the Pears, it’s not something that the players were dwelling on heading into the 2009 campaign.

“Graeme stepping down was a huge blow for the club but teams move on really quickly, they don’t want to stand still,” he added.

“The club will look at how much they will miss Hick but players don’t do that. We don’t sit around talking about how much we miss him because we can’t afford to do that.

“Of course the things that he passed on still crop up and they always will because he had such a massive influence on this club. We’re not dwelling on his loss but some of the things he contributed have been set in stone.”